A rare view of the little known Rootas Tramway just north of Cherry Burton in East Yorkshire.
This is the only known view of one of the line’s locomotives at work on the line, other images show either horses or wagons bring pushed by hand.
The locomotive is clearly a product of Kerr Stuart but beyond that, nothing is known – apparently it was called Brutus but if this is the case I’m not sure as it carries no plates or exhibits signs of plates or even a painted name.
Three locos are alleged to have worked the line between its inception and ultimate closure and abandonment in 1923. When it started is hard to estimate as it grew as needed and has eluded the Ordnance Survey too – much like the Sand Hutton Light Railway and other short lived lines.
Mainly used for moving timber and stone from a number of plantations and chalk puts respectively the line enjoyed around twenty years of relative calm. Even the war had no real bearing beyond younger workers being called up.
Following closure the line faded from the landscape be and memory, only Rootas Lane remains to keep the name in people’s consciousness, albeit with no actual reminders of this little two foot gauge railway.
Big Trains, Little Trains 